Retaining device



April 17, 1951 D. P. DARWIN 2,548,874

RETAINING DEVICE Fi led Oct. 10, 1945 INVENTOR URN/EL F. DnRw/N.

BY a 0am;

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 17, 1951 2,548,874 RETAINING DEVICE Daniel P. Darwin, Lansdowne, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a. corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 10, 1945, Serial No. 621,546

This invention relates to securing means, more particularly to retaining rings, and has for an object to provide improved devices of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retaining ring which is readily applicable to, and removable from, a grooved shaft or similar 7 structure.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a retaining ring particularly adapted for securing high speed rotary members in position upon shafts.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved retainin ring in Which the retaining action increases with increase in rotational speed of the member retained.

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will be apparent from the following description and claim taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through a ball bearing assembly utilizing the principle of the present invention and taken along the line I-I of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the retaining ring deformed for application to a grooved shaft; and

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the retaining ring in unflexed condition.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, there is shown, in Fig. 1, a shaft I having a radially extending shoulder l l against which abuts the inner race l2 of the ball bearing IS. The shaft [0 is provided with the usual groove M to the opposite side of the bearing inner race I2 for a reception of the retaining ring l5, to prevent axial movement of the ball bearing inner race away from the shoulder II or to the left as viewed in Fig. l.

The ring l5, as best shown in Fig. 4, has a pair of diametrically-disposed key portions l6 extending radially inward for reception in the groove l4, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2, It will be noted that the inside diameter of the ring l5 (omitting the key portions I6) is materially larger than the inside diameter of that portion of the shaft 10 which has the groove [4.

The retaining ring l5 likewise carries. a pair of diametrically-opposed mass portions l1 positioned substantially 90 degrees from the inwardly 1 Claim. (01. 858.5)

directed key portions IS. The remaining portions N3 of the ring 15, between the key portions [6 and the mass portions H. are flexible or resilient, with the result that when pressure is exerted upon the two lugs or mass portions [1 to move them toward each other, the connecting portions l8 flex with consequent outward movement of the key portions !6 to the positions illustrated in Fig. 3. When in this position, the ring may be freely slipped over the shaft I0 until it is axially aligned with the groove [4, when the pressure may be released and the ring allowed to return to its normal shape, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. In the latter position, the key portions [6 are partially disposed within the groove 14 to prevent axial movement of the inner ball race [2 away from the shoulder ll.

Preferably, the lugs ll have a mass slightly greater than the mass of the key portions IS, with the result thatv the centrifugal forces of the former exceed those of the latter. Consequently, the greater centrifugal forces resulting from the greater masses at the lugs I! tend to move the latter outwardly with consequent inward movement of the key portions [6, thereby increasing the keying or securing action of the latter.

While it is preferred that the lugs ll have slightly greater mass than the key portions I6, in order that the former may have greater centrifugal forces than the latter, the same results may be obtained with lugs ll of no greater mass than the key portion l6 inasmuch as the former are positioned farther from the axis of rotation of the shaft in than are the latter, and, inasmuch as the centrifugal force is directly proportional to the product of the mass and radius, the excess radius of the lugs ll over that of the key portions it will produce greater centrifugal forces in the lugs ll.

It will be apparent that the present invention provides a retaining ring which is relatively simple to manufacture, is easily applied and likewise easily removed, as well as one that is highly effective in its retaining action due to the increase in that action upon increase in rotative speed of the shaft with which it is used. Heretofore, with high speed apparatus it has been found desirable to use shrink rings for retaining purposes in situations of this character, such retaining rings being diflicult to apply and requiring machining operations consequent to their removal and replacement.

While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

A retainer ring for axially positioning parts on rotating shafts, comprising an annular portion; a pair of diametricallympposed key portions extending radially inward from said annular portion; a pair of diametrically-opposed weight portions extending radially outward from said annular portion approximately intermediate said key portions; the sections of said annular portion which are between the key portions and the weight portions being resilient whereby the retaining ring may be flexed at right angles to the diametrically-opposed key portions to increase and decrease the distance between the latter; and the product of the weight and radius of the Weight portions being greater than the product of the weight and radius of the key portions whereby the centrifugal forces of the weight portions during rotation of the ring tend to expand said ring in the directions of said weight portions, thereby tending to contract said ring in the directions of the key portions.

DANIEL P. DARWIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,091,959 Pybus Mar. 31, 1914 1,134,520 Dyba Apr. 6, 1915 2,401,087 v Brock June 11, 1946 2,416,852 Schaff et a1 Mar. 4, 1947 2,443,614 Gray June 22, 19%

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 457,087 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1936 481,970 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1938 

